In general, clothes etc. are delivered in a hung-state on a hanger when delivered from a manufacturer of the clothes etc. to a distributor or from the distributor to a retailer. Currently, pursuant to the Product Liability Law, the so-called “PL Law”, clothes are delivered after having ascertained with a metal detector that no pins or the like remain in clothes and other sewn products. However, with synthetic resin clips, composed of a “U” shaped metal spring which urges elastically clamping portions at each tip end of clip members in a direction of pressing toward and against each other, the metal detector inadvertently responds to the metal spring in the synthetic resin clips.
In order to deal with such inadvertent action of the metal detector, a type of synthetic resin clip construction is used wherein an elastic synthetic resin spring, which is formed of a composite material having high-density carbonate resin as the main component, and which is bent back to a “U” shape at a middle portion, is mounted into the synthetic resin clip, and such clips are mounted onto the hanger.
However, in case of a synthetic resin clip provided with a synthetic resin spring made of a composite material including a main component of high-density carbonate resin being subjected to repetitive use, the synthetic resin spring occasionally breaks at the bent-back portion and scatters. As a consequence, pieces of the broken synthetic resin spring may injure a user's hand, face and the like, which is a problem in the safety of the clips.
One conceivable way to deal with the above-mentioned problems is to cover the synthetic resin spring at the time of molding the clip members. However, in that case, it causes a bothersome problem, such as the impossibility of the removal of the molded particle from the mold, complication of the mold in structure or an increase in parts of the mold (the number of mold parts) and so on, and in consequence, causing the problem of higher initial costs or running costs.
In view of these problems, the inventor of the present invention has previously proposed a synthetic resin clip comprising of a pair of opposed clip members, each of which has a clamping portion formed at one end, and a synthetic resin spring, which is bent back at the middle and formed in a “U” shape, mounted in straddle position between both of the clip members. The clip members are elastically urged in the direction in which clamping portions of the clip members press against each other due to the synthetic resin spring. Engaging portions are formed on an interior surface portion at the tip ends on both legs of the synthetic resin spring. The clip members are provided with receiving portions, which are engaged with the engaging claw portions, and fly-apart preventing bars are formed so as to extend from an operating portion formed so as to extend from an operating member to a position near the tip of the receiving portion. Spaces for insertion of the engaging portions of the synthetic resin spring are formed between the tip portion sides of the receiving portions and the tip portion sides of the bracket bearing portions. The tips of the receiving portions and the tips of the bracket bearing portions are disposed by overlapping with zero clearance or a slight clearance for enabling the removal of the molded articles from the mold in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the mold JP 1996-205984 A.
In such a synthetic resin clip as proposed by the inventor of the present invention, since window holes are opened over the entire width, when the synthetic resin spring breaks, the broken pieces thereof may fly out of the opening into the surroundings. There is thus the possibility that safety cannot be sufficiently ensured.
In view of this, the applicant of the present invention has also previously proposed, in order to provide a synthetic resin clip and a hanger comprising the synthetic resin clip, which is very safe and can be produced at low cost, arranging fly-apart preventing bars across the upper and lower edges of these openings JP 2006-61365 A.
With these conventional synthetic resin clips, while the broken pieces of the synthetic resin spring can be prevented from flying out of the opening into the surroundings when the spring breaks, because the abutting portions of the pair of clips are pushed together in a clamped state on the pivot shaft from the outside by the elastic force of the synthetic resin spring, if the synthetic resin spring breaks the clip members separate from each other, whereby there is the problem that the clip members along with pieces of the broken synthetic resin spring fly out into the surroundings due to the recoil of the synthetic resin spring upon breaking. Thus, there is the problem that safety cannot be said to be sufficiently high.